Project Design Assistance

The most common way that Local Motion helps communities become better places to walk and bike is by providing feedback on how already-planned transportation improvement projects can be made more walk- and bike-friendly. For example, we will often be called upon to review repaving projects to assess whether the striping plan can be changed to incorporate bike lanes or wider shoulders. We also sometimes help communities come up with policies or designs from scratch that address a significant gap or deficiency related to walking and biking.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The projects listed here are only a small fraction of what will ultimately be included on our website, and the descriptions included are placeholders for much more in-depth content to follow. Please be patient as we build out our new website!

Local Motion assisted the Shelburne Paths Committee with a redesign of the Bay Road underpass that has made this dangerous pinch point much safer for people driving, walking, and biking. The redesign narrowed the motor vehicle lane to a single lane, stopping motor vehicle traffic at the approach on either side of the underpass. This allowed for the creation of protected space (using flexible bollards) for people to safely walk and bike through the underpass.

Local Motion was closely involved in both refining the design and promoting the concept. The Town of Shelburne created an initial design with assistance from the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. Local Motion provided a critical tweak to the plan: narrowing the single vehicle lane to about 11 feet, which allowed for a walk-bike lane on both sides. (The initial design concept called for a walk-bike lane on only one side, which would have required half of the walk-bike traffic to cross the street right at a pinch point with poor sight lines.) The Town then moved forward rapidly to implement the plan.

Local Motion worked with town leadership through the Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee to improve its Street and Sidewalk Safety Policy (formerly called the Traffic Calming Plan). The project resulted in a policy that: provides clear and objective criteria for determining why and how street and sidewalk safety projects move forward; clarifies the process for selecting and prioritizing projects; and includes a flowchart illustrating how projects move from citizen suggestions to the Traffic Safety Committee.

As part of Swanton Village's repaving plan for US 7 and VT 78, Local Motion helped community leaders design a project that safely incorporated bike facilities on 1st Street (VT 78), Grand Ave (US 7), Depot St (VT 78), and Canada St (VT 78). Local Motion also provided assistance with traffic calming for Merchants Row, improving the safety and functionality of this area in the short and long term.

May, 2016: We have just launched a brand new website and are working to fully update our project pages. We will have more information posted shortly. In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please reach out to our Community Technical Assistance Manager, Katelin Brewer-Colie.

Local Motion worked with the Agency of Transportation (VTrans) and was instrumental in extending bicycle facilities along Williston Rd to include the entire state highway portion of Williston Rd to VT 2A as part of the repaving planned for summer 2016. Specific improvements include a combination of bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, 11-ft vehicle travel lanes and conflict zone markings using green paint.

May, 2016: We have just launched a brand new website and are working to fully update our project pages. We will have more information posted shortly. In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please reach out to our Community Technical Assistance Manager, Katelin Brewer-Colie.

Local Motion worked with a multi-jurisdictional team through the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission to influence the long-term design of a multi-use path from Lime Kiln Rd to Susie Wilson Rd as part of the CIRC Alternatives process.

May, 2016: We have just launched a brand new website and are working to fully update our project pages. We will have more information posted shortly. In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please reach out to our Community Technical Assistance Manager, Katelin Brewer-Colie.

The Champlain Parkway is a major road planning and (eventually) construction project in Burlington that has been in the works for more than four decades. Broadly defined, the purpose of the project is to improve access to Burlington from the South. Local Motion has been engaged in the Parkway project for almost a decade. Over the next few months, we will be adding a wide range of Parkway-related materials to this site. In the meantime, please visit the official Champlain Parkway website.

Local Motion helped to shape the vision for a safer North Avenue for everyone: people walking, biking and driving. This street is a critical connection between downtown Burlington and the citywide institutions and regional attractions parks located in the New North End. As a member of the project Advisory Committee, Local Motion supported the approved Corridor Study, which calls for protected bike lanes, as well as many crosswalk and intersection upgrades, beacons and other pedestrian safety improvements that will create a safer, more pleasant neighborhood in the heart of the New North End.

May, 2016: We have just launched a brand new website and are working to fully update our project pages. We will have more information posted shortly. In the meantime, if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please reach out to our Community Technical Assistance Manager, Katelin Brewer-Colie.

The Railyard Enterprise Project is a planning and scoping project whose goal is to build out the street grid west of Pine Street and north of the Barge Canal superfund area so as to better connect Pine Street with Battery Street and promote economic development opportunities in the area. Walk and bike connections are a key part of the project design.